Discussion

Pizza Mozza, Patina, Gjelina and Spago reserved. Where else should I eat?

Will be visiting LA in a couple weeks from Seattle. After much research on this board I have made reservations at Pizza Mozza, Gjelina, Patina and Spago. Other place on my list to try are Ricky's Fish Tacos, Versailles, and Chichan Itza.

Also need a place for a weekday lunch downtown, weekend lunch in Pasadena, a dinner in Topanga Canyon and a dinner near UCLA. I will try almost anything but my SO eats pescatarian so fish or vegetarian options are essential. I'm most interested in places and food LA does best. Thanks!

Lots of choices for lunch downtown. Lazy Ox, Church & State, Spice Table, Water Grill, to name a few. Not a lot of choices in Topanga, but Inn of the 7th Rey is very unique and beautiful setting. Dinner near UCLA, there is Casa Azul for high quality Mexican, The W Hotel in Westwood has NineThirty which is good and they have food by the pool which is really nice. Should be open for dinner at that time.

Dinner near UCLA is tough. Westwood eateries are mostly chains and must-miss places. You have to get out of the immediate UCLA area to find edible food.

If you drive south on Westwood Blvd about half a mile to a mile down from UCLA, you'll start to notice a lot of persian eateries. Shamshiri is probably the most popular of the bunch, but I can't give it a wholehearted recommendation. I've had a couple good meals there, and a couple so-so to bad meals there, but overall it offers you an interesting cuisine, better Persian than most cities offer, good atmosphere and vegetarian options that are actually tasty. Plus, you have Saffron & Rose Ice Cream nearby which is a must-try for dessert after your dinner.

Another option for dinner near UCLA is the Japanese area centered around Sawtelle Blvd and Olympic. There, you will find dozens of Japanese restaurants serving everything from small plates to omakase to ramen and soba and more, in just about every price range.

Lunch downtown maybe try Mexicali Taco? It's a good taco shop, small place, not glamorous but solid food. Not sure if you'll want more taco's after Ricky's and I'm also not sure what a pescatarian would eat there.

Another option downtown is Mendocino Farms, and while they make excellent sandwiches and I do fully recommend them for their food, I worry they might not fit the bill regarding food LA does best. I'm pretty sure every city in the world has a place that makes great sandwiches.

For your Pasadena and downtown lunches, depending on your schedule you might want to take the drive out to the San Gabriel Valley, which is a veritable wonderland of Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine.

Shamshiri has been pretty good to me, but I think if westsidegal chimes in - she is a pescatarian of the utmost discriminating palate - she may be able to provide guidance about Shamshiri and many other pescatarian-friendly places. My father usually orders either the white fish or the salmon (I don't rec this) at Shamshiri.